Collision
by Lunarmercury
Summary: Wanderers almost never remain wanderers. Those who experienced such an adventure together almost never remain apart. In a world where collisions could occur at any time, what will those who have averted it before do when their main weapon is gone?
1. Revival

_Lunarmercury Presents:_

_**Collision**_

**Summary:** Wanderers almost never remain wanderers. And those who were exposed to such serious, catastrophic circumstances almost never remain apart. In a world where collisions with stars and other planets could occur at any time, what will those who have averted it before do when their main weapon is gone?

**Chapter One: Revival **

They had not managed to continue to move around for long. Or rather, they managed to find a place to settle down and go undetected. Bambi couldn't bear to stay away from her princess, so she found a place right near Seeu and Kaguya. Seeu and Kaguya, meanwhile, had decided that moving around so often wasn't at all fair to their son, and so, had decided to settle down in an inconspicuous countryside in the fifth world. Kaguya remembered it…. or at least, she thought she did, though it wasn't the place that she thought it was. It strongly resembled the place they had hidden with the sages in the floating castle, on the run. The place where Seeu had slept so often, remembering the hands, remembering Kagami….

Kaguya wasn't sure about it at first. It wasn't out of the way enough, she had argued. They couldn't establish permanent residence, they'd be found out, when all they wanted was to live in peace. All of her arguments were nothing more than excuses, however, for her underlying worry for her husband. She didn't want him to suffer a nervous breakdown. She didn't want him to sleep all day, overloaded with emotion and memory. This place, though it was not the same place, was eerily close, and it seemed to her that it would cause disastrous emotional turmoil in her lover. However, the meadow, the countryside, everything, seemed to have the opposite effect on him. It reminded him of Kagami, of happy times fishing and playing in the meadow, of when the dark-haired boy had loved him and tried to teach him how to love. Kagami always thought he failed to impart that knowledge into his friend, but it turned out that he had taught Seeu quite well indeed. And so, Seeu was happy in the decent sized house they built in the peaceful field, not too far from a town, but adequately out of the way. That was the deciding factor, Kaguya thought, how happy it made her husband – that and the fact that, as Seeu argued, it was a good resting and hiding place for _him_. That was really all the convincing Seeu needed to do.

It had been five years that they lived there – their son was already nine years old. Nine! Had it really been fourteen years that they prevented the demolition of the worlds? It truly didn't seem possible. They were all so happy – Kaguya was making a living by crafting jewelry and sculpting pottery – she was really quite talented – and selling her work at the market every week, earning a considerable sum. Seeu took care of their son, Akeno, and occasionally forayed into scientific fields, sending in research anonymously, yet somehow managing to be paid for it. Kaguya never did understand that.

Kaguya hummed softly as she bustled about the kitchen. She bought fresh groceries every afternoon on her way back from work, and if she didn't set up her stall at the marketplace that day, rather staying home and craft more pieces, either she or her husband would venture out in the morning and buy whatever they need that day and for next day's breakfast. Today, though, she was making a foray into town in order to sell her wares. She was quite looking forward to chatting with the other stall owners – they were all quite amicable, and Kaguya was friendly with all of them.

Kaguya finished her cooking, carefully serving herself a bowl and eating first before setting two more places. Just as she predicted, her husband glided into the kitchen, graceful and possessed despite just getting up. Kaguya smiled.

"Good morning, dear. Breakfast's on the table." Seeu nodded, looking at the sweet omelets and rice on the table. Kaguya didn't hold on to many of her homeland's customs, but she had a tendency to fix Japanese food – or at least, as close to Japanese as she could get with fifth world food. It was similar to that of Eden's, but not exact, leading to some very interesting dishes. Kaguya passed by Seeu on her way to the door, stopping to give him a good morning kiss. He smiled at her – he had gotten much better at smiling since she met him. "Good morning, Kaguya," he greeted. Seeu didn't tend to use many endearments.

Kaguya crept down the hall until she reached a door at the end. Softly, she cracked it open, sticking her head inside. A smile spread across her face.

"I see that grin, Akeno-chan. You can't fool me, I know you're awake," she whispered. Akeno let out a small groan and snuggled into the covers. Kaguya's smile widened and she slid into her son's bedroom. Gently, she lowered herself onto the bed and stroked the soft red hair. "Come on sweetie, it's time to get up. Breakfast's on the table." Immediately, at the mention of breakfast, Akeno bolted upright and shot out of bed, not bothering to get dressed from his fuzzy gray pajamas before eating. Smirking and shaking her head, Kaguya followed her son to the kitchen at a more subdued pace. Checking to see that Seeu had given Akeno a napkin and his booster seat, Kaguya left the kitchen and headed to her workroom.

Kaguya carefully packed her pottery and beadwork, wrapping the delicate pieces in soft, colorful cloth that would serve as decorative pieces once she set up her stall, backgrounds to best show off her work. She then walked to the doorway, stepping down into the area for shoes – yet another custom she had kept from Japan, though if she was in a hurry (like, say, she was dropping her groceries and really needed to put them down on the kitchen table) she didn't always observe the "no shoes in the house" rule. Carefully sliding her slippers on to her feet, she hoisted her bags and prepared to leave.

"Seeu! Akeno! I'm going!" Kaguya called to the two in the kitchen. At once, the pit-pit-pit of bare feet could be heard running across the tiled floor.

"Mama! Wait!" A small panicked voice cried. The boy flung himself at Kaguya, small frame colliding with her legs and causing her to stumble back a little. "Don't go! I haven't said good-bye yet!"

Laughter filled the room. "Akeno! You know I could never leave without my good luck hug." Fond fingers stroked through the petulant child's apple-red hair, and the frown faded to a smile. Kaguya bent down and gave his small forehead a small kiss, then returned the tight hug her son have her. Seeu appeared in the entrance hall, and Kaguya leaned past the shoe-area in order to give him an affectionate peck on the lips.

"When will you be back?" Seeu inquired. Kaguya grinned. That was her husband… all practicality, no flowery sentiments.

"I'll be home early evening – 5 o'clock?"

Seeu nodded. "…I'll make dinner," he offered begrudgingly. Kaguya had managed to pound a few recipes into his head over time – mainly soup. She had a funny sense of humor. After one more kiss on the lips for her husband and the forehead for her son, she left, starting down the gently curving path.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The day was beautiful, Kaguya decided. She loved beautiful days, for more reasons then one. Beautiful days brought out the butterflies and bees currently buzzing about the flowers in the meadow surrounding the dirt path. The sun was barely risen, but the young rays of sunlight took the nip out of the early morning chill that always lingered in the meadow. An early morning breeze rippled through the air, blowing the flowers gently.

Beautiful days were also nice because they brought more customers, more people to chat with, to hear stories from. It meant more stalls would be open, which meant more friends to catch up with and confabulate with when there were no customers and the minutes were becoming boring.

Kaguya smiled and hummed to herself, slightly swinging her large basket as the town grew steadily larger in her view.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sun was slightly past its zenith, rays beating down upon the town, but the canopy above her stall protected both Kaguya and her customers.

'_Just a few more hours…_' she thought with a small smile as she helped a woman choose a necklace for her daughter's birthday gift. Finally, the woman decided, and Kaguya waved and wished her a good day as she walked away.

Kaguya was rearranging her wares when suddenly, something _happened_. She was just standing there, passing the time by straightening fabric and moving necklaces and rings to cover gaps, when all of a sudden, reality _rippled_. Kaguya was thrown to the ground as waves seemed to distort the image of the bazaar, and everything sped up: Customers seemed to move faster than cars had on Eden, but their legs weren't moving any more than they would at walking speed. Things disappeared off of stalls, and sometimes Kaguya could discern that they had been bought by the people "walking" by. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Kaguya found herself lying on the ground with a massive headache. She carefully sat up, rubbing her aching cranium, and noticed that a few other shopkeepers were doing the same. Most of them, though, were rushing to help the people that had been affected as she had. She noticed that things were just as they had been before the strange event: nothing had moved, or was missing. Hurriedly, she pushed away the people that had helped her up, thanking them for their kindness and babbling about going home. Things disappeared into her bags at a rapid rate as she shoved them in, still making sure, even in her disoriented state, to wrap the more delicate objects. She took off, yelling goodbyes to her "neighbors" as she left. They waved goodbye, looking very worried as she rushed off.

Kaguya sprinted down the dirt path, intent on getting home to her husband and Bambi-chan as soon as possible.

Then the meadow seemed to _shudder_. She was thrown to her feet, and, as she glanced up, she saw what looked like blindingly bright glitter sprinkled on a backdrop of velvet. There seemed to be a ribbon of the same substance winding through it, though what distinguished it from its background, she couldn't say. Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through her, and she screamed in agony. It felt as if limbs were being ripped off and reattached in the wrong place the wrong way. Worse, she decided, it felt as if every atom – every single particle of her being was being unraveled, scrambled and then slapped back together. A dull roaring sounded in her ears, like a "whoosh" at a low, humming frequency. She couldn't breathe, and it was cold, so bitingly frigid that it almost seemed hot and her skin burned, she wanted to get it off get it OFF but she couldn't, because she couldn't just strip her skin off like clothing and why not, why not? her addled mind queried, and she wanted to claw at her arms, her legs, anything, everything, just make the pain stop, the burning end –

And everything was still. The only sound that filled her ears was that of her harsh, labored breathing. A cold sweat covered her, and her body hummed and tingled with residual pain. She carefully pushed herself up, and her noodle-limp arms collapsed under her weight. Kaguya lay there, panting, before trying again ten minutes later. This time, she managed to sway to her feet. She stood there for another couple of minutes, before, assured that she wouldn't topple over, she bent down to pick up her basket and bags. This upset her newfound balance, and once again, she tumbled to the ground. After waiting another minute or so, Kaguya began to rise again. Her mind was considerably clearer, and she had the good sense to sit up and collect her things _before_ standing up. She set off at a steady walk, but after several dozen feet, she decided that she could run.

Kaguya arrived home panting and perspiring heavily. She slammed open the door, carelessly dropped her bags on the floor and ran through into the house without bothering to remove her shoes.

"Seeu! Seeu-anata!1" she cried. Seeu rushed to the front, catching Kaguya. Rare panic graced his features, and Kaguya thought that she hadn't seen him look worried in quite a while. She sagged against him, gasping for breath.

"Kaguya, what happened? You only left twenty minutes ago. Is something wrong in the city?"

Kaguya stared at him in abject confusion. "Twenty minutes? But – but I've just come back from an entire day in the city!" She sprinted to the door, new adrenaline pumping through her veins and giving her energy. Seeu ran after her.

Kaguya flung open the door and gaped. It was true: the sun was only as high as it had been when she left that morning, not at the one or two o'clock position as it should have been. Kaguya collapsed, but before she could really fall, thin arms caught her, and Seeu gently carried her inside.

Akeno was inside, shouting "What wrong with Mama? What's wrong with Mama?"

"Mama's fine," Seeu soothed, "but she's not feeling well enough to go to the market today, so Papa's putting her to bed."

Akeno followed them, eyes shimmering with worried tears. Seeu gently laid Kaguya down on their bed, then ushered Akeno out, saying "Mama needs her rest now."

Once Akeno was set up in the family room with pencil and crayons to keep his mind off of his "sick" mama (not that it would ever work), Seeu returned, shutting the door behind him with a soft "click."

"What happened?" he inquired. Though his voice made an honest attempt at neutrality, it failed miserably, and came out laden with worry.

Kaguya merely shook her head. "Please, fetch Bambi-chan for me?" Seeu agreed without complaint, carefully covering her up before heading out of the house.

Bambi's house was a fair trek away, but Seeu made it there in no time flat. His worry for his wife pushed his speed marvelously. He knocked on her door loudly, and Bambi was standing in front of him within moments.

"What is it?" Bambi solicited, her distaste for Seeu clearly showing. The only reason she lived so close to Seeu was because she was very fond of his wife and child, and she didn't make any particular attempt to be civil towards him. Generally, out of politeness for Kaguya, she managed neutrality, but she had been in the middle of something important, and didn't really feel like being anything even close to polite for him.

"Kaguya wants you," he responded, his feelings for Bambi exactly the same as what she felt for him.

Bambi frowned. "I thought she was going to the market today." The hostility was gone from her voice, replaced by confusion and traces of distress.

"She was," Seeu replied. "She came dashing back twenty minutes after she left, completely out of breath. She looked very ill, and insisted that she had just spent all day in town."

Bambi's eyes widened, and she brushed past Seeu on her way out. "Let's go!" she urged. She didn't need to say it twice, as Seeu immediately took off, Bambi following close behind.

They slowed down as they reached Seeu's house, Seeu opening the door quietly. They both removed their shoes and crept down the hall, cracking open the door to Kaguya and Seeu's bedroom. Kaguya had arranged the pillows so that she was easily sitting upright, and she waved them in.

"Can you two promise to listen to me with an open mind?" she started with no small talk. They both nodded. Kaguya took a deep breath. "I left this morning just after the sun rose. I spent several hours at my booth in the bazaar selling things. I had just sold a woman a necklace for her daughter's birthday present when this weird… tremor ran through the market place. Everyone seemed to speed up, and an entire day seemed to pass by, but then time returned to normal and it was as if nothing happened. I ran back here, but in the middle of the path, another… tremor ran through the meadow, only stronger. It was like the meadow was ripped away and I saw something – I don't know, it almost looked like space. And it _hurt_, it felt like I was being deconstructed or something, and put back together wrong. Then the pain just stopped and everything was back to normal… except that when I came home, Seeu started talking about how I had just left and…" she trailed off, her eyes welling with tears. "Please believe me!" she pleaded, clutching onto her husband's sleeve. He gently (and rather awkwardly) patted her back, soothing her wordlessly. Bambi frowned.

"I believe you," she assured her princess.

"As do I," Seeu agreed softly.

"I was listening to the news on other planets," Bambi began rather abruptly. Seeu and Kaguya glanced at her, Seeu with a blank face and Kaguya with a confused one. "They mentioned strange happenings as well. Odd energy readings with no source, seismic readings but no earthquakes… there's no explanation. However, they are worried that it could change the trajectories of the different planets. It could be that what Kaguya mentioned had something to do with it."

"But…" Kaguya spoke up hesitantly. "What happened to me? Why did these… these tremors affect me and no one else?"

Bambi frowned. "Well, we learned that you aren't linked to the universe like everyone else… that could be it." Her frown deepened. "What we should be thinking about is whether or not this will happen again. Obviously, it has an adverse effect on Kaguya, so we should try to figure out what they are and what we can do about it." Kaguya nodded, and Seeu also gave a slight nod. "It's also possible that the stunt we pulled to keep the planets from colliding didn't work as well as we had hoped. We might have thrown off their orbits, and what we're feeling now is a prelude to the collisions of the planets." Kaguya stared at her in horror.

"We can't let that happen! We have to do something! If we know about it, then it's our duty to at least try!"

Bambi sighed. "There's no guarantee that's what's happening. It was just a thought. It would probably be a good idea to see what the other planets think, so if you don't need me anymore, I'll go home and see if I can hear anything."

Kaguya looked a little unsure, but nodded. Seeu just shrugged.

Once Bambi had left, Kaguya turned to Seeu. "Do you think…" she started softly, hesitantly. "Do you think that the planets are really going to collide?"

Seeu looked grave. "The last time, they were going to crash because they weren't remaining in their own dimensions any more. It's possible that the "tremors" you were feeling were the side effects of the tearing dimensions."

Kaguya looked down at the floor. Her voice sounded even softer than it did before, and she looked as if she desperately didn't want to suggest this. "Should…" she licked suddenly dry lips. "Should we… wake him up, do you think? Is it time?" She looked at him, her large blue eyes pleading, and Seeu wished that he did not have to be the one to answer his wife's question and confirm how bad it really was.

"I do," he replied, his voice equally quiet, but none of his unease reflected in his tone.

Kaguya bit her lip and nodded. "Tonight then, " she whispered," when Akeno is asleep… I go down."

"I'll go with you," Seeu intoned. His tone brooked no argument, but Kaguya ignored that. "No," she replied sharply. Her tone softened. "You need to stay with Akeno, in case anything happens."

"Kaguya…" Seeu started, but Kaguya merely shook her head and Seeu stopped.

"Tonight, then," he agreed resignedly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaguya snuck down the hall, slippered feet making no sound on the wood. She had a thick cloak wrapped around her in anticipation of the night's chill. Carefully, Kaguya slid her feet into sturdy boots, whose soles would allow none of the premature dew that might have collected to penetrate. She slid out the door, closing it behind her with practically no sound.

Grass crunched crisply under her booted feet, and the air was heavy with moisture and cold, the cutting scent entering her nose with each breath. Bugs chirruped, but no birds sounded, since there were no trees near by. The world was a wash of blacks and grays, the crescent moon barely giving off any light. Kaguya needed both hands where she was going, though, and she could not risk a lantern. Despite the fact that the last time she had been to this place was nearly five years ago, her steps were sure. She knew the way.

Kaguya came across a small pond and stopped. She walked twenty-five paces counter-clockwise, bringing her directly across from where she was before, and took out a tiny dagger from her cloak. Crouching down, she checked for the small, out of place patch of toadstools she knew should be there. Upon finding them, the blue-eyed woman brought the knife up to the pad of her left index finder and made a small slit, her hand wavering only slightly. The drops of crimson, faded to a nearly black color in the pale light, splashed down onto the mushroom. Five heartbeats past, then five more, till nearly half a minute had gone by. It seemed like a long wait in the cold darkness, but Kaguya stayed where she was. Finally, a low rumbling shook the ground. Directly to her right, a small patch of mud pulled away to reveal a long set of stairs. Putting the knife away after wiping it on the grass, Kaguya made her way over to the new opening. She headed down the stairs, bracing her hands on either side of her to make sure she didn't fall.

Kaguya reached the bottom and stretched her hands in front of her, taking tiny steps forward until she bumped into an invisible barrier. She immediately called upon the small, brightly glowing core of energy Bambi-chan had taught herself to find inside of her and began carefully pushing it into the barrier. The shaking that had preceded the opening of the stairs started again, more violent this time, before getting to the point that a lantern would have fallen over and broken. Kaguya stayed her ground until the barrier disappeared from under her hands. She started forward, continuing until her path took her to a stone dais in the middle of the room. On it lay the still figure of a boy. Kaguya placed her hands of the bare chest of the boy and began channeling energy into him just as she had the barrier. She continued until a certain feeling flowed through her, the feeling that the boy had enough energy. Kaguya stepped back.

Before her, on the stone table, the boy's bright blue eyes snapped open with a gasp.

1 – anata: "dear"


	2. Reawakening

_Lunarmercury Presents:_

_**Collision**_

**Chapter Two: Reawakening**

The boy sat up with a gasp, chest heaving, sweat plastering his gold-streaked, spiky black hair to his forehead. His bright blue eyes were wide as they frantically darted about the room. His eyes lit upon the girl standing next to him, and he immediately calmed. The former sleeper carefully slid off of the tablet, and immediately, his legs buckled under him. Kaguya instantaneously caught the slender, weakened form of the boy – but even thin as he was after years of a magical coma, he was too heavy for her to support. Her own knees buckled, and she barely managed to shift his weight off of her and onto the stone slab. She hopped up next to him, then looped her arm around his shoulders, pulling the raven-haired figure to lean against her. His form shook, fine tremors wracking his body as he gradually regained control of his body.

The first thing he noticed, when he had calmed down, was that his senses were greatly heightened. In fact, had he not been in such a dim, quiet, bare cavern, he probably would have been reeling from the sensory input. As it was, he could easily make out the cracks in the walls, the small sounds of underground springs and dripping water, the faint, almost metallic scent of stone, the bitter taste of a long, deep sleep, and the feel… the feel of air, yes, heavy, thick air, but cool and refreshing in spite of that. The feel of soft, draping cloth. The feel of a slight form that securely held him, gently rubbing her fingers across his shoulder and whispering calming words and rocking him ever-so-slightly.

"Ka… Kaguya?" he rasped, his voice thin and soft from the thick layer of sleep blocking his throat. "How long…?" He allowed his sentence to trail off, knowing Kaguya would understand what he meant.

"Fourteen years," she whispered in response, her voice nearly as soft as his. To the boy's heightened senses, her voice was clear – though no louder than it would have sounded to another – and almost musical, his hearing able to pick up the slight nuances and lilts that normal people could not hear. "Fourteen years, you've been asleep… a lot has changed." A small smile graced her lips. "Seeu and I have a son. Akeno. He's really quite sweet…"

The youth smiled, his tremors all but gone now. "What does he look like?"

"He's nine now," Kaguya replied. "He has his father's hair and build and my eyes… we want to have another baby soon, but… things have been in such disorder…"

"They have to have been," the young man declared. "If they weren't, I'd still be sleeping."

"Kagami…" Kaguya whispered, speaking her brother's name for the first time in years. "Kagami… the universe is coming apart." She looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I don't know what's going on… but I think we're responsible somehow. I think… I think what we did to fix it was only temporary, and it triggered something big…" She swallowed thickly, before continuing, her voice stronger, a hint of the steel she had had when she was still Princess of the Ananai creeping into her voice. "It's our fault. People are in danger. We have to help them! I won't stand idly by as innocents die due to our foolishness! We have to do something, and soon!"

Kagami smiled at her, then said, "All right… I think I can walk now. Shall we return?"

Kaguya smiled and nodded. She slid off the flat surface, then helped her brother down. He wavered a bit once his feet hit the ground, but managed to keep his footing. He and Kaguya laboriously trudged towards the exit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They made it home about half an hour later. Kaguya had just stepped onto the small stone in front of the door when it swung open. Seeu stood in the doorway, soft light diffusing from the candle he held in his hand.

His first reaction was to stare at Kagami. And then to stare some more. Kaguya was just beginning to think he'd frozen in that position when one of his… less fortunate habits from before resurfaced.

Seeu crumpled to the floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seeu, as always, regained consciousness very quickly. Almost immediately upon snapping open his eyes, he was fully awake and ready for action. His gaze lit upon Kagami, and a strange expression crossed his face, before the ripple disappeared under the calm countenance of his typical expression.

"Kagami," he murmured, barely able to believe it. Kagami smiled that bright smile Seeu remembered so well, the smile that endured wars and horrors and even… even the end of the universe.

"Seeu!" he chirruped. "It's nice to see you again."

Seeu said nothing, but only rose gracefully from the couch upon which he was seated. He expertly struck a match with a mere flick of his wrist, then lit several candles, all arranged in a semi-circle. When he was done, the light level of the room was about equal to that of three evenly spaced lamps – more than enough for clear viewing.

"I need to make sure everything is normal," he intoned. Kagami moved into the light of the candle, easily removing the thick yet light fabric draped over his slim figure.

Kagami's figure had changed since he was a doll. Though his height and weight were about the same, as was his eye color, his formerly black hair now had liberal streaks of gold running through it. A magnificent golden dragon, looking much like the Chinese dragons of lore did, wound its way around his body. The detail was breathtaking, each scale clearly visible, the whiskers fine and the eyes deep and captivating. It began at the juncture of his neck and right shoulder, with a tiny bit of its whiskers trailing up onto his neck. It then wound down around his back, across his abdomen, with the arms falling naturally as they would were the dragon to crawl. It wound around back one last time, then its tail wrapped itself around his left leg until, in a fine, pointed tip, it ended just above the foot. His left hand still sported Gold, sprouting from the back of his hand, but instead of it being completely retracted, it instead wound back, reaching midway up his forearm. He seemed to radiate an aura, golden light pulsing around him, and it was clear in the way he moved that he was physically stronger than before.

"Incredible," a voice breathed from behind them. Kaguya whirled around to find Bambi standing in the threshold of the den, a doused lantern in her hand. "I thought he had died."

"No," Kaguya corrected softly, "as you can see, he is very much alive. How will be saved for another time… we have others to pick up, do we not? And it is a long story, so I do not wish to retell it many times." She gave a soft smile, then added what Bambi's expression clearly stated she wished to hear. "The tremors are a result of our actions… I know it. I can feel it. We must stop this, and set it to rights, before many innocent people die. That is why Kagami was revived… we need the living weapons in order to fix this, I believe, and Kagami can revive the living weapons. However, we first need to find their wielders."

"But Idou is dead," Bambi pointed out with her typical dead-pan expression. "We do not have all the owners."

"I know," Kaguya informed her. "We shall simply reform his weapon, and then… then we shall find its wielder."

"It is late," Seeu interrupted. "We should sleep. We can start in the morning."

With soft, assorted mumbling, the others agreed, and headed off for bed.


	3. Gathering

_Lunarmercury Presents:_

_**Collision**_

**Chapter Three: Gathering**

The morning dawned wet and cool, small wisps of clouds permeated with red light from the emerging sun. Kaguya crept into Akeno's room, gently shaking him awake. He mumbled something unintelligible, clearly _not happy_ despite the fact that he normally awoke not much later than this on his own.

"Akeno-chan, you have to get up," Kaguya cooed in her sweet voice.

"Whyyyyyyyy?" the boy whined, burrowing further under his covers.

"I have someone here for you to meet," Kaguya coaxed. "You'll think he's amazing, I promise."

Akeno grumbled some more, but eventually conceded, padding sleepily into the living room, lit brightly with candles. In the flickering light, Akeno could see the bags neatly lined up by the wall leading to the entry hall, their boots scrubbed and ready to go. The sacks were stuffed full, standing there as if waiting for someone to come by and pick them up, and Akeno couldn't help but stare. He knew that his mother carried bags with her when she went to the market to buy supplies or sell her wares, but she never had this many bags, nor did were these bags the smaller satchels or larger totes she typically used.

"Mama, where are we going?" he asked softly, still distrustful, unhappily eying the family's version of suitcases.

"To visit old friends," came Kaguya's equally soft response. She knew her son would be excited to meet his mother's friends, as he had never met anyone from Kaguya's old life with the exception of Bambi and Meishie and Gaviesu, the last two of whom only stopped by occasionally "First, though, there's someone I want you to meet." She gently pushed him farther into the living room, until he saw the figure sitting on the couch. Akeno squeaked and hid behind his mother, clinging to her skirts. Normally, the boy was very mature for his age, but sometimes, especially around strangers, he acted very young. Perhaps it was his parents' paranoia rubbing off on him, but strangers scared him and made him nervous, especially adult ones.

"Mama, who's that?" he cried quietly, gripping her yet tighter.

"Why, Akeno-chan, that's Mama's older brother, Kagami!"

"Ka-Kagami?" Akeno whispered. He then overcame his shyness, running towards him, suddenly wide awake and as excited as any child ever could be at meeting a story-book hero that turned out to be real. "Wow! Wow! Are you really Uncle Kagami? Mama told me soooooo much about you, but she said I wasn't eeeeever gonna meet you!"

"Well, we didn't think you were," Kagami admitted with a smile. "But something changed, and I managed to make it here to stay with you. You don't mind if I stick around for a while, do you?"

"No way! No way! That'd be so cool!" Akeno began bombarding him with questions, until Kaguya came up.

"That's enough, Akeno. We have to go. We have a long trip, and if we want to get there within the month, we have to leave."

"Aw, man," Akeno pouted. He instantly brightened though. "I can talk to Uncle Kagami on the trip, right?"

"Of course you can, Akeno-chan," Kagami answered, bending down slightly so as to be on eye level with the child. "I'll tell you lots of really cool stories, maybe even some stories about your Mama!"

"All right!" Akeno cheered. He instantly ran outside, yelling, "Come on, Mama, Papa!"

Kaguya sighed, but began collecting the bags before strolling outside.

Once outside, all the adults had at least one bag slung over a shoulder and one bag in hand. Akeno, too, carried a small bag with his favorite possessions in it.

"This is going to be a long walk, Akeno-chan," Kaguya murmured, bending down to fiddle with first his coat, then the straps of his backpack. "You may get tired, but try to keep going, okay? We'll stop and rest sometimes."

"Okay, Mama," Akeno chirped in reply, thrilled at traveling and excited from his meeting with Kagami, his enthusiasm dampened none by the early wake-up he had received earlier that morning. He was normally awake at this hour anyways, having inherited his mother's sleeping habits as well as both of his parents' schedules. For the couple, sleeping too much reminded them in some distant way of the times when Seeu would do little but sleep, and those were uncomfortable memories.

As they trudged through the door, shutting it softly behind them and walking away, Kaguya and Seeu paused briefly. They simply stared at the small cottage that had housed them the last five years, serving as a cozy home for them and their small son. He would by sad, they knew, the farther they traveled, the more it sank in that they would be away for a long time. He didn't have as many friends as other children due to the fact that his parents were more cautious about being recognized and lived so far away from town, but he had fond memories of frolicking in the meadow and about the pond, chasing rabbits and frogs and catching the occasional small fish. As they stared at the building that had been their shelter, their _home_ for the past half decade, Kaguya and Seeu had matching expressionless faces. They had both experienced the loss of a home before, and though both had been hoping to stay there for a while, they hadn't really been expecting it.

"What shall we do with Waseda-san?" Kaguya questioned softly, glancing at her husband out of the corner of her eyes without moving her head.

"He shall be fine," Seeu responded. "He is well hidden and well-stored, and there is water that will not evaporate waiting for him should he wake up."

"He'll be confused," Kaguya commented lowly. "He'll want to know where we've gone."

"I cannot help that," Seeu answered his wife. "He has been separated from us before, and we are not planning to leave permanently. We will see him again."

"I hope so," muttered Kaguya.

The pair turned from their house, walking up to the two that had been waiting for them.

"Say good-bye to our house, Akeno-chan," Kaguya instructed as they walked away.

"Bye, house!" Akeno shouted joyfully behind him as they trudged away. "I'll see you later!"

He began to prance up ahead of them then, ignoring Kaguya's calls to calm down or he would be sorry later when he was tired and still had to walk, marking the true beginning of their journey.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was over twelve hours later after several breaks that the travelers stopped for the night. They were in the middle of a field, with no towns in sight, and as the night was clear, they opted to simply lay out the bedding they had packed and sleep under the stars.

"Ne, Bambi, this is just like old times!" Kaguya commented cheerfully. "Right after we met and we had to live out in the wild, collecting berries and rabbits…"

"Oh! Mama! Tell me that story again?" Akeno begged. Unfortunately for him, his voice was so lacking of its normal vigor that it always had when he requested the story, Kaguya ruled him too tired and ordered him to bed. He pouted for several minutes, before finally agreeing to go to sleep.

After the sound of Akeno's soft breathing had filled the air for several minutes, Kaguya turned to Bambi. "How are we going to get to Geo? You said you had a plan, we need to hear it."

"I didn't know about Kagami," Bambi started with a glance towards the black and gold haired boy. "So I made plans to meet with Meishie and Gaviesu, by that small town." By "that small town," Bambi referred to the one that seemed so much like the fishing town Meishie had been so taken with. "From there, Meishie will transport us to Geo." Meishie had lost a great deal of his power with the salvation of the universe nearly a decade and a half ago, but he still could transport with some effort. So it was now with all of the sages – they had their powers, but needed much concentration and effort to make them work.

"What then?" Kaguya inquired softly. Though she didn't hate Kura, there was little love lost between them, and even less between Kura and Seeu. She really didn't know if he would be willing to help them without a price… and she was neither willing nor able to pay many prices. If he was involved, as he almost certainly would be, and did demand payment, she would have to hope the argument that it was to save his people would be enough to sway him. It normally was – though he was a dictator, and could be quite ruthless, he cared a good deal for his subjects, and would go to great lengths for them.

"We do need to see Kura," Bambi said, as if reading Kaguya's thoughts. "Once we meet him, he can use the collapsers and his many scientific resources to see what can be done. Now that we have Kagami and will have the living weapons, our task will undoubtedly be easier. We should probably round up at least two more people." Bambi's face twisted into a scowl. "As much as I hate to admit it, Damien does have a clever mind. He wouldn't be bad. And…" here Bambi paused, apparently drifting off into thought.

"Bambi-chan?" Kaguya pressed worriedly, slipping back into her old use of the honorific in hopes of catching her friend's attention. It worked.

"Don't be so formal," Bambi reprimanded her. "It sounds strange." She shook her head, then composed her thoughts. Seeu and Kagami watched this process with interest, but did not interfere. "Another person who may be good is Idou's old soldier, Sarita. She…" Bambi paused. "She was also trained in strategy and fighting. She's young yet, but so was Kaguya when she was involved the first time around. Besides, Idou dedicated his life to this cause. Undoubtedly, she'll want to be involved in something that was so important to Idou."

"And if Kura doesn't have a solution?" Seeu questioned. Judging by the look on his face, he considered this likely.

The fire crackled as they small group pondered this solemn conclusion. A sharp pop from the flames made Kagami, with his enhanced senses, jump. He spent several moments contemplating the stars, gem bright in the smooth, dark sky, before speaking up.

"Gold may have a solution," he offered hesitantly. "It would be far better if Kura had a solution, but, as Seeu thinks, this may not happen." He glanced around. "If we chose this option, it is very risky, and I'm not sure we could even begin it. I… I think it depends on whether or not we can revive the living weapons." He studied the world around him; the grass, the dew, the sheets, appreciating his world and giving his teammates time to digest that piece of information. He then lifted his head, gazing at them with clear, unblinking blue eyes, confidence painted across his face and radiating aplomb. "But I'm confident we can pull it off. When we call the living weapons, I'll tell you all about it, and then you can decide if you want to try."

They all lay down then, trying to drift off to sleep, though all of them would stare up at the stars for some time before finally falling asleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You're late," was the first comment out of Meishie Laracotte's mouth when the bedraggle group arrived in town nearly a week later. Seeu carried Akeno on his back, the boy asleep, while Kagami carried the extra bag.

Kaguya frowned. "Maybe if _someone_ had agreed to meet us a little _closer_…" Kaguya hinted rather unsubtly.

Meishie shrugged. "This is the best spot for travel. I can't help that." His attempted deferral of blame made no impact on the three glares leveled at him, and he held up his hands, chuckling nervously at the heated looks he was receiving. His attention was quickly caught, though, by the only conscious member of the group staring at him rather than glaring.

"Well I'll be…" he breathed. "Is that…?"

"This is Kagami," Kaguya explained. "We'll tell more once we meet up with Gaviesu and Kura." Kaguya paused, realizing what she had said and the fact that Gaviesu _wasn't there._ "Er… Gaviesu _is_ with Kura, yes?"

"Yes," Meishie huffed. "After one trip, he said he didn't want to endure it again."

Kaguya eyed him nervously. They trooped out of the city, then lined up as a rippling sensation overcame them. Kaguya was just thinking that the trip was nice, gentle enough that it wouldn't even wake Akeno, maybe, when the reason Gaviesu didn't want to travel twice kicked in and a feeling of nausea and dizziness kicked in as her world dissolved around her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Kaguya regained awareness, she was in a soft bed of grass, being held by Seeu. She sat up, blushing heavily, then glanced around her. Bambi was holding her head, looking severely annoyed – judging by her wobbliness at sitting up, she had regained consciousness not too long before as well. Akeno was also asleep, though whether that was a side-effect of the collapser, simple exhaustion, or a combination of both, Kaguya was unsure. She stood carefully, shaking slightly and clinging to her husband as he helped her up. Bambi managed to stand as well, without anyone's help, and Kagami – apparently more vulnerable to modes of transportation not his own – accepted Meishie's help in standing. Seeu carefully gathered Akeno, Kaguya too weak and unsteady to safely carry her son, and they strode in the direction of Kura's castle.

It was exactly as Kaguya had remembered it: bustling with life and activity, people rushing to and fro, shouting orders and fulfilling duties, a perfect, frenetic example of an efficient leadership. As they passed through, there were a few that attempted to stop them, but inevitably someone else would recognize the group, pull aside the meddler and begin chastisement, before stopping in the middle of berating his co-worker and bowing courteously, apologizing for the interruption and promising the perpetrator would be suitably punished. Kaguya started several times to insist that that wasn't necessary, the hinderer was only trying to do his job, but she was always stopped and pulled along.

When they finally reached the throne room, Kura was, unsurprisingly, expecting them.

"So, you want me to help you fix the universe again?" he inquired merrily. "Decided you hadn't had enough of playing hero and wanted another go, eh?" He rubbed his goatee, nodding and chortling.

'…He hasn't changed at all,' Kaguya decided, and she wasn't the only one.

"We need to have more people than this," Bambi started with no pleasantries. "Sarita and," she grimaced perceptibly, "Damien would be helpful."

"You think I should help you?" Kura began laughing uproariously.

"Your people's lives will not be spared should the collision occur," Seeu pointed out quite calmly.

"And will you force me to join your cause, Prince?" Kura asked mockingly. He did not, however, make the mistake of underestimating Seeu again, nor did he still consider him a doll. "Hmm… Sarita and Damien have both proved to be invaluable to my service. Who shall I leave in charge if I join you on your noble quest?"

"Surely you have found someone else by now, Kura," came an amused voice from the back of the group. Kagami stepped into view, cerulean eyes sparkling with mischief and cheerfulness, mouth curved into something between a smirk and a smile.

"But how…?" He breathed, before turning to glare at Seeu. "And here I thought you had moved beyond _dolls_, Prince," he spat, venom dripping from the last two words.

"I'm insulted, Kura," Kagami said, voice smothered in mirth. "I thought I was distinguishable from a doll, but it seems I had less of a personality than I thought."

"You can't be Kagami. Kagami was obliterated, soul and all," Kura insisted, displeased at being proved so wrong, at being so lacking in information the past years.

"Please, Kura," Kaguya requested softly. "Gather Damien and Sarita and we will tell you the story."

"And there are plenty of people waiting to hear it," Meishie added under his breath.

"Very well," Kura acquiesced, giving no indication that he had heard Meishie. He signaled to a guard, who bowed and disappeared. Some minutes later, Damien and Sarita entered the room. While Damien was mostly unchanged, Sarita had certainly grown, looking to be in her early to mid-twenties. She had grown taller, though she had kept her same hair length, and was dressed that day in a tunica and comfortable cotton pants. They both stopped immediately inside, staring at the group.

"What are _they_ doing here?" Sarita demanded. Kaguya smiled at the girl in a placating manner.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," she requested, ignoring Kura's indignant expression at having someone else issue orders in his throne room. "Kura, could you please have everyone else step out?" she requested, turning towards the emperor. He gave a small "humph" of offended pride, but agreed. Soon, the room was empty.

"Well," Kaguya began, "I have quite a story to tell you. It may take a while, so please, really make sure you're comfortable. Maybe we should distribute the cushions so that everyone can sit close together?"

After some shuffling and rearranging, everyone was settled in, Kaguya began her tale.

"More than three hundred years ago, Kagami sacrificed his life to save Seeu…"


	4. Explanation

_Lunarmercury Presents:_

_**Collision**_

**Chapter Four: Explanation**

"More than three hundred years ago, Kagami sacrificed his life to save Seeu," Kaguya began. "and so, while Seeu was not supposed to survive, he lived on. This affected time in an obvious way, but it had more effects than it seemed. Seeu could do more than add his own life to the fight for the universe; he could add Kagami's life.

"Seeu's people, as you all probably know, had been infected many centuries ago by a deadly contagion. This caused a wave of research about dolls which contained human souls. This research did not seem successful. In fact, the only instance in which a human soul did make it into a doll was a fluke; it was not with any of the machines they had experimented with, nor was it with a more advanced doll. This instance occurred with Waseda-san, when he was looking over the Lunato Mercury. His body was pierced by the Luna as she rushed off to Seeu. However, the Luna, being a living weapon, pierced more than his body. She pierced his soul. By doing so, she granted his true wish: to survive. She did this by transferring his body into the doll that he currently inhabits, the chicken.

"This occasion was probably the most important piece of research for the project ever to have occurred, and no one knew about it. What it proved was that the only way to transfer a spirit into a doll and have the spirit control the doll was to involve a living weapon. Unfortunately, when Kagami was killed, his body was all but destroyed. For all anyone knew, his spirit was gone, and so could not be transferred.

"Seeu knew more. Kagami had absorbed the Gemna, and thus had altered his own soul, becoming the Gemna. Kagami had gathered and stored his soul – which was no longer just an ordinary soul, just _Kagami's_ soul, but could also serve as the Gemna – into the Organic Gold, thus combining his soul with the soul of the Organic Gold. When Seeu finally finished the doll, he tried to implant Kagami into Gold. He had never completed his research, though; he didn't know how Waseda-san had been successfully transplanted, or even that Waseda-san existed. He didn't quite succeed, but he linked Kagami to Gold enough that the Organic Gold was willing to stay on Gold and be used by him. It was only decades after his implantation on Gold that Kagami subverted Gold's systems and was able to steal control for brief moments. However, it cost much of Kagami's energy, and so he could only stay like that briefly.

"Then, as some of you are aware, Bambi came to take me to Kura. In doing this, she broke Gold. Gold's left hand and the Organic Gold were still intact, but the rest of the doll was worthless. Though Kagami's soul was contained only in the doll's left hand, he had no body, and so could not contact us.

"Things were getting worse quickly, and Kagami had been left alone at Seeu's castle on fifth world. Kagami managed, just barely, to take a different form. He combined completely with the Organic Gold, and became the dragon we saw.

"Everyone thought that he was obliterated, body and soul. I, myself, thought that he was gone forever. However, I was strolling through the woods by myself one day only a couple of months after the death of Kagami. I… felt something pulling me. I was told, once, that because I was born after the end of the universe I had a greater… clairvoyance, psychic ability, what have you, than others. I think that perhaps this is what the "pulling" was.

"I came across a sheltered hollow in a tree. There was something different about the tree, something special, and I couldn't quite figure it out until I peered inside this hollow.

"Inside it, there was a left hand covered in gold.

"It was, of course, Kagami's hand, and I couldn't believe it. It was then, as I picked up the hand, that I heard the voice.

"Normally, living weapons speak to no one but their masters, but because this was not a living weapon but a combination of Kagami and Organic Gold, he could speak not only to me, but to anyone he wished. As I listened, Kagami told me of how he just barely managed to manipulate time and space in one last, incredible effort and survive. He followed me until he found the world I lived on, then took that form and stayed in a place where he knew I would find him. He explained that by staying as a hand wrapped in the Organic Gold, it took the least energy he could spend being able to be recognized as who he was. He could regain his human form, but it would probably look different, and he would be drained of energy for a very long time. In fact, unless special measures were taken, he wouldn't wake for centuries. I took Kagami home, hiding him in the bottom of a chest most days. He didn't mind, because he was sleeping.

"Then, after Seeu and I were married, I told him all about what had happened and what Kagami had told me. He agreed to keep it secret with me. After we finally chose a world we thought we would stay on – where we're living now – we found a place to hide Kagami. Under the pond where we lived, there was a natural cave system. However, there was no natural way to access it, so we had to make one. After we created this entrance, we made the stone tablet for him to sleep on and the barriers to shelter him. Kagami told us the necessary steps to help him regain his energy quickly in a time of need, should we ever have to wake him prematurely. Were an emergency to arise, then we could wake him immediately. He told us that it would be better for him to sleep, to give him time to assimilate all that he had learned before, when he went through the worlds, to see if he could fix the situation with the worlds when he woke. However… this would mean that none of us would ever see him again.

"When the worlds started shaking, though, we thought that if anyone knew how to fix them, it would be Kagami, and so we were forced to wake him early and bring him here." Kaguya sat back, rubbing her throat slightly after speaking so long a tale.

"Then what exactly is your plan?" Meishie wanted to know. "Since Kagami knows so much, what does he suggest we do?"

Kagami frowned slightly, the look out of place on his normally cheerful face. "I'm not sure quite what to do," he admitted. "I didn't have time to understand what happened on Ancient, or what happened when we enacted our plan, so I'll need some help with what to do. But I do think that we should remake the living weapons first…"

"And how the heck are we going to do that?" Kura demanded. "We all gave up our weapons for our plan before that didn't work."

"Well… I think Gold should be able to reform the weapons. I'm not entirely sure how, but I don't think I really need to understand what I'm doing to do it."

The others blinked in confusion. It didn't make much sense to them, but they could all tell that it was a very risky plan. What none of them understood, however, not even Kagami, was exactly how risky it was. Because the weapons were a part of Gold, and Gold was part of Kagami, he could draw the weapons out of the Organic Gold with no damage to the living weapon. However, because of the intertwined souls, Kagami ran a very high risk of unraveling himself in order to make the other living weapons. If he did not enact the ritual correctly, he could deconstruct Gold in order to construct the other weapons; however, that would effectively kill Kagami because their spirits and lives were combined.

"When will you revive the weapons?" Seeu asked, deadpan as always.

"Well… I could do it right now, but I think it would be better if we were somewhere less susceptible to destruction," Kagami answered with a smile. "I think the fifth world would probably be good."

Kura nodded, then stood abruptly. "Let me take care of that," he asserted smugly. He started to stride out of the room before Damien asked, "Your Highness, where are you going?"

Kura stopped in his tracks at that, before stating in a voice that made it clear he thought his actions were obvious, "I'm going to schedule a collapser usage."

"We don't need a collapser," Meishie informed him, clearly delighting in taking Kura down a few pegs, even after all they had been though together.

"What-but-" Kura spluttered a bit, before settling into a peeved expression. "Why not? And why didn't anyone inform me before?"

"You didn't leave us time, Kura," Kaguya answered, unable to hide her smile or her small fit of giggles.

"Wait!" Sarita cried suddenly. "I don't understand! What are we doing? Why am I going with you? I don't want to have anything to do with that woman!" By "that woman," Sarita referred to Bambi. She had never like Bambi, and her dislike grew to hatred for some inexplicable reason after learning she was her sister.

"Sarita," Kaguya murmured quietly, drawing the girl's attention to her. "I know you don't like Bambi. But please, consider this: this is for the salvation of the universe. Idou dedicated his life to this cause, and I believe that he taught you well enough for you to do a good deal to help us. I would like to think that you would carry on Idou's cause. We really do need you. Please, Sarita?" Kaguya's large, blue eyes stared up at her. It was a gaze that no one had ever properly resisted, and Sarita proved to be no exception. Grudgingly, the girl agreed to go with them. Inwardly, though, she was anything but reluctant. This was Idou's old cause, and she knew it had meant everything to him. He would have gladly given his life for it, and that thought alone made her ashamed at her selfishness, her outburst, and the fact that she wouldn't have worked at something so important to the man she had loved. Sarita set off eagerly, determined to make her former mentor proud.

It wasn't ten minutes later that Meishie had once again transported them to another world, this time an empty meadow in the fifth world, far from Seeu and Kaguya's house. Kagami looked around, before deciding that the site was a good one. There was a small brook nearby, which explained why there were the ruins of an old stone wall; someone had undoubtedly built a home and farm at the site, taken by the easy access to water.

"Everyone should probably stand back," Kagami warned, a frown once again on his face. "I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but it might be dangerous."

All decided that it would be wise to follow Kagami's advice, and stepped a great distance from him. At first, Kagami did nothing but stand there, a look of intense concentration on his face. Then, suddenly, his eyes flew wide open, a look of shock on his face. His form bulged, his flesh literally crawling, and suddenly he seemed to burst, his small, human form erupting into the enormous golden dragon he had become at the almost-end of the universe. He writhed, roared, then soared off into the sky before seeming to hit some sort of door, gradually disappearing as the length of his body entered the mysterious barrier.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kaguya paced the grounds nervously, hands wringing together. Seeu slept, propped up against a section of the old, crumpling rock wall, too worried to retain consciousness, Akeno sleeping beside him, worn out from the excitement. Everyone else was scattered about: the sages Meishie and Gaviesu; the former owners of the weapons Kura and Bambi; Sarita, who had been reluctant to come, but now would not have left no matter what, and Damien, insistent that he could win back Bambi's affections.

Suddenly, a great flash of golden light lit the meadow, Kaguya covering her eyes and crying out at the bright light.

When vision had returned to all, the scene lay clear. The weapons – all four that had disappeared – now lay on the soft grass, perfect in every detail. Kagami crouched on his hands and knees, black-and-gold hair damp with sweat, breath coming in harsh, ragged gasps.

"Brother!" Kaguya cried and rushed forwards, wrapping her arms around his trembling form. Seeu stirred, woke and went to assist Kaguya in lifting Kagami. He easily cradled the smaller boy, laying him down on the soft grass and covering him with a cloak.

"All…the weapons…" Kagami rasped, "…they should… all be there…"

"Shh," Kaguya soothed, worry shining in her bright blue eyes.

"They… call to their owners," Kagami continued. "Zenith Crio must choose her new owner…"

Seeu was carefully running his hands over Luna at this point, examining every inch for nicks, scratches or any other imperfections, but there were none. In spite of this, he continued to handle his weapon, as if reacquainting himself with a friend long gone.

In a way, he was, and the other owners of the living weapons were in similar states. Each was getting readjusted, listening to the constant chatter in their minds.

"Well," Gaviesu huffed to Meishie off to the side. "I feel so ignored."

Meishie glared at Gaviesu, as if telling the other sage to shut up. His gaze quickly shifted to another sight, though: Sarita.

The pale-haired girl was standing off to the side, stock still and wide-eyed. As they watched her, she slowly began to move, drawing the others' attention to her. She stopped by Zenith, bending down to touch it. She began to slowly run her hands over it, examining it as the others had examined their weapons. She started at it in awe, before speaking softly, slowly.

"I hear…" she breathed, shocked. "It… speaks a little like Idou… she.. she's _speaking_ to me.." was all managed to stutter out before collapsing onto her side in the lush grass.


End file.
